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~~((National Senior Citizens Day -- page 22 of 24))~~
The shorter man scowled at the sight of what had just happened, and he holstered his gun again. His posture straightened, and he looked like he was about to say something until the ground began to shake.

Trails of dust shook loose from the basement's ceiling. The old building groaned and cracked. Raul's breathing paused as he waited for the trembling to subside, and thankfully, it did.

He was reasonably certain that the fighting elsewhere in the town had caused that just now. Faint popping sounds arrived as well, probably from explosions in the distance. They must have been pretty loud if they were making it all the way down here.

But Arumoro wasn't informing him that anyone needed his help just yet, so Raul tried not to worry. He still had one more opponent to focus on.

And the other man was taking his time, too, perhaps to consult with his reaper and assess the situation.

Raul took the opening not to attack but instead to undo the invisibility-inducing shadow from the ring. The blood that had been splattered across it suddenly had nothing to hold onto and dropped in midair, splashing around him. Some of it got on his clothes, but that was fine, because he immediately resummoned the shadow. He made sure to engulf the severed head under his arm as well, carrying it like a football.

The remaining Abolisher sighed and muttered something in Valgan.

Then he drew his weapon again and blew his own brains out.

Raul just blinked and stared.

It took more than one bullet. The undead man had to unload the rest of the magazine into his head before his body finally went limp, and he dropped to the ground in a bloody heap.

Wide-eyed, Raul needed a few moments to process what had just happened.